WHOI's Alvin to get upgrades

Upgrades under way on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's flagship underwater vehicle could eventually open up nearly the entire mysterious depths of the ocean floor to scientific discovery.

sean teehan

Upgrades under way on the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's flagship underwater vehicle could eventually open up nearly the entire mysterious depths of the ocean floor to scientific discovery.

Phase one of a two-part upgrade plan ratcheted up last week when a new spherical pod designed to carry scientists during dives in the Alvin arrived at WHOI, said Susan Humphris, the senior scientist overseeing the upgrades.

"The visibility and the observations that can be made will be considerably better than the previous sphere," Humphris said.

During its dives, Alvin carries three people: two scientists and a pilot. The vehicle previously had only three viewing portholes — one for each person aboard — that allowed scientists and pilots to see outside the vessel. The new personnel sphere includes two extra portholes so scientists might see what the pilot sees.

For example, Humphris said, a great deal of her geological work includes examining rocks. Before the upgrade, the limited view forced her to map out from the surface where particular rocks were that she wanted; she could only hope the pilot followed directions and identified the sought-after rocks.

"Now I will be able to tell the pilot which rock I want, and watch him pick it up and put it in the sample basket," Humphris said.

The new sphere also includes high-definition imaging technology and new material that increases its buoyancy while underwater, Humphris said.

The Alvin was taken out of the water in December 2010. It could return to the deep sea by the end of the year if phase one of the upgrade stays on schedule.

The job of placing the new sphere inside the larger vessel falls on pilots who will eventually operate the revamped vehicle, Humphris said. WHOI officials on the Alvin team expect initial tests of the vehicle at Woods Hole to begin in November and deep-sea tests in Bermuda to commence in December, she added.

Phase two, at this point, remains a more far-reaching and long-term goal for WHOI. Within four to five years, scientists and engineers hope they can increase Alvin's diving capacity from about 2.8 miles to about 4 miles underwater, Humphris said.

"Right now Alvin can reach about two-thirds of the ocean," Humphris said. "With the deeper dive of the Alvin, it will be able to reach about 98 percent of the ocean floor."

And with the deeper dives, scientists could gain a perspective of the ocean previously impossible to achieve.

Although the prospect excites Humphris and her colleagues on the Alvin team, she said they must allow time for proper funding and development of battery technology capable of operating at such depths.

As Alvin evolves, the world-renowned vehicle — which aided in research into everything from the underwater vents that cause geysers to the effect the Deepwater Horizon oil spill had on aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico — might allow the world a greater window into the unknown deep-sea world.

"The scientific community is very excited about these upgrades," Humphris said. "It's going to improve the capabilities of Alvin and make it an even more useful tool than it already is."